LB 

2S46 



National Education Association 



f\ 



Vner^o. 






Final Report of the Committee 

ON 

Uniform Records and Reports 

TO THE 

National Council 



AT THE 



St. Louis Meeting 

February, 191 2 



9' '. 



Composed and Printed By 

The University of Chicaeo Press 

Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. 



6c 






REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON UNIFORM 
RECORDS AND REPORTS 



The committee on uniform records and reports has, since the last 
meeting of the department, continued its work along the lines indicated 
in the preliminary report submitted at that meeting. That progress 
has been made is indicated by statistics which were gathered by the United 
States Bureau of Education showing that 216 cities are now using the 
cumulative record card, and that 418 cities are able to report their fiscal 
statistics on the form which was recommended by this committee in co- 
operation with the United States Bureau of Education, the Census Office, and 
the Association of School Accounting Officers. We believe that the work 
which has been begun by our committee should be continued by a permanent 
committee whose duty it should be to suggest, from time to time, such 
improvements in records and reports as may be determined by their study 
of the situation. 

The report which follows is divided into the following sections: (i) 
records and reports for state school systems; (2) records and reports for 
city school systems ; (3) pupil records with special reference to the cumula- 
tive record card; and (4) the report of fiscal statistics. Accompanying this 
discussion there are presented as separate documents the cumulative record 
card recommended by the committee; the form for reporting fiscal statistics 
which was prepared in conference with the Bureau of Education, the 
Census Ofiice, and the Association of School Accounting Officers, and which 
is now furnished to cities by the Bureau of Education ; and the form for a 
teacher's register. 

STATE REPORTS 

In dealing with that section of its work which relates to state accounting 
and reports the committee appreciates fully that the legislation of the 
various states has a most important bearing on the practicability of uni- 
formity in matters of detail. On some points this legislation has to do 
with matters of fundamental concern to the states, and modification of it is 
extremely unlikely. Such for example are statutes dealing with the dis- 
tribution of state school funds. Such funds are secured in a considerable 
variety of ways, and this distribution is arranged on various bases satisfac- 
tory to the legislatures of the different states. While there will doubtless 
be an increasing recognition of the basic principles that should govern such 
distribution, and this recognition will lead to a certain degree of uniformity 
in the bases of distribution selected, it is hardly conceivable that local 

3 



NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 



•considerations will not continue to govern largely such plans. Recognizing 
this and other differences, it is clear that the statistics of the states must in a 
considerable measure conform to definitions, terms, and methods that com- 
ply with local statutes and conditions. 

The committee does not regard it as essential to the purposes of this 
report to deal, beyond this explanatory reference, with these necessary 
points of diflference. The following recommendations it hopes will prove 
a constructive contribution to the part that may be taken by the state 
departments in securing reasonable uniformity in reporting and in attaining 
a more efficient publicity thru official reports. 

The forms to he employed by states in gathering statistics should be similar 
in general form and arrangement to those used by the national bureau. — The 
committee recognizes that an important step toward uniformity in report- 
ing will be to present to the various reporting officers of the country statis- 
tical forms as nearly as practicable, uniform in terms, definitions, and 
arrangement. 

If it could be made possible for the local officer to report both to the 
state and to the national bureau on practically the same basis, distinct 
gains both in accuracy and in uniformity would accrue. 

The committee recognizes the great desirability of an arrangement 
whereby the statistics of the Bureau of Education as relating to units 
within the several states might be gathered thru the various state depart- 
ments of education. Such a plan would obviate the necessity of a second 
reporting by local officers, while it should doubtless increase the means at 
the disposal of the Bureau of Education for securing statistics from the local 
units. This plan of reporting to the Bureau of Education thru the state 
offices, the committee recommends for adoption as early as practicable. It 
sees no reason why it may not be adopted by those states that are in position 
to make such co-operative arrangements even tho all state departments 
may not be able to make them at once. 

In the meantime it repeats the recommendation of its preliminary report, 
to the effect that state departments in securing statistics from units within 
the states conform so far as possible to the forms employed by the Bureau 
of Education, supplementing the points covered therein with those required 
for local use. These forms, it will be noted, may be issued both in the 
''long" and the "short" forms for use, respectively, with larger munici- 
palities and with smaller school systems. These forms, issued by the 
Bureau of Education and approved in conference with this committee, are 
submitted herewith and made a part of this report. 

Essential points not now reported by all the states should by agreement 
come under universal reporting. — A careful inspection both of national and of 
state reports shows that there are various fundamental points of information 
relative to schools that are reported by a majority of the states but are not 
reported by all of them. The committee believes that the basis adopted by 



mmximmmwJ 



msmmwjh 



COMMITTEE ON UNIFORM RECORDS AND REPORTS 



the Bureau of Education for all leading items is at once conservative and 
reasonably comprehensive and that it should be adopted by all the states. 

In its preliminary report the committee called attention to various 
items regarded as fundamental by a majority of the states, but not reported 
by all of them. In order to collect figures on some of these points, as, for 
example, the school census (not taken by 3 states), enumeration by sex 
(omitted by 13 states), school enrollment (only partially taken by 12 states), 
wages of teachers (not returned for the sexes separately), and private schools 
(not fully reported), it may be necessary to secure additional legislative 
authority. The fact that so large a majority of the states have found it 
desirable to secure these statistics is sufficient evidence of their general 
interest and value. 

Educational reports should be made for the year ending June jo. — There 
appears to be a considerable variety in the terms for which reports are 
made. The committee recommends that all school systems, including 
state systems, make their reports on all educational items for the year 
ending June 30. It does not appear to the committee that such reports 
for, this period are necessarily inconsistent with a plan of making fiscal 
reports for a fiscal year terminating on another date. 

The scope of the state report should be coextensive with all educational 
interests of the state. — The committee believes that the educational report of 
each state should bear the same relation, but more in detail, to the state and' 
its educational activities th^t the national report bears to the entire country. 

A review of state school reports reveals a wide variety of practice 
in the scope of investigation conducted by state departments. Some 
of these reports cover only the essential points of public-school conduct 
required by law to be returned to the state offices, while others aim to report 
with reasonable fullness all the educational activities of the state. 

With regard to the content of state reports the committee commends to 
the favorable consideration of state officers the proposition that each state 
report shall be a compendium of all the educational activities of the state 
for which it is made. As a supplement to this proposition, the committee 
mentions the following suggestive outline: 

1. A review of educational progress of other states, with particular 
bearing upon forward movements within the state. 

2. Detailed statistics of all public schools under local management; 
(a) elementary; {b) secondary; (c) normal; {d) collegiate; (e) city insti- 
tutional; (/) for special pupils; (g) vocational; (A) extensional. 

3. Summaries of the foregoing. 

4. Public schools under direct state management: (a) elementary; 
{b) secondary; (c) normal; {d) collegiate; {e) technical or vocational; 
(f) professional; (g) schools for delinquents; Qi) schools for defectives; 
(i) special. 

5. Summaries of the foregoing. - -e 



NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 



6. Schools under private management : (a) elementary; (6) secondary* 
(c) collegiate; {d) vocational; {e) professional; (/) schools for delinquents- 
(g) schools for defectives; {h) special. 

7. Summaries of the foregoing. 

8. Special investigations: 

a) Investigations dealing with special problems, such as school mor- 
tality, nonpromotion, etc., are most efficiently conducted thru local school 
systems. The fruits of such investigations should, however, thru the 
medium of the state report be made available to all the people of the state. 

h) State-wide investigations dealing with forward movements affecting 
a large number of communities, such as school consolidation, conveyance,, 
secondary-school distribution, rural progress, etc., should be made directly 
by state offices. 

Special reports or bulletins should he issued at intervals. — The committee 
strongly recommends the issuing by the states of bulletins or special reports 
dealing with particular issues at times separate from that of the publica- 
tion of the comprehensive state report. Such separate reports may be 
made timely to the discussion of these special issues and hence may be 
made more effective in promoting a public understanding of them. 

The use oj charts, diagrams, and illustrations should be considerably 
increased. — The committee recommends that the state reports, in common 
with city reports, make larger use of charts, diagrams, and illustrations for 
the purpose of presenting with greater force matters of special and timely 
interest. While these are in the nature of devices and as such are rarely 
applicable to the same set of statistics each year, yet they undoubtedly 
make an appeal to the interest of any subject that a verbal or tabular 
statement fails to effect, with a resultant better understanding of it. 

Comparative tables should be arranged covering intervals of several years 
and certain phases of school activity should be reported for longer periods. — The 
committee believes that both state and city reports should make compara- 
tive tables showing statistics covering intervals of 5 or 10 years. Such 
tables should appear on many items that are annually reported. The 
work of gathering statistics would, however, be considerably simplified 
if statistics on various phases of educational progress should be gathered 
at decennial periods, and the committee is of the opinion that the purpose 
for which these statistics are gathered would be fully met by such occasional 
reporting. The United States Bureau of Education should become the 
source of suggestions as to what information shall be collected for other 
than annual periods. 

Interpretation of statistics is necessary. — As in the case of city reports, 
the state report must discharge as fully as possible its chief function as an 
agent of publicity. The merely formal presentation of figures or tables 
is only a step toward publicity. The reporting officer should bring his 
school experience and his larger outlook over the educational field to the 



COMMITTEE ON UNIFORM RECORDS AND REPORTS 7 

aid of the public thru an adequate interpretation of the statistics presented. 
Such interpretations should in part be made in the reports themselves, 
closely connected with tables and their summaries. They will have 
particular value, however, when presented at opportune times thru special 
bulletins, exhibits, and the public press. The committee recommends a 
largely increased attention to that phase of educational reporting that 
aims to make statistics intelligible to the largest possible constituency. 



Outline of school y 
system 



Outline Form of City School Report 

Normal school (organized 18 — ). 

a) Academic high schools (first organized 
18-). 
High school ( ^^ Technical high school (opened Oct., 

^ ^ .19—)- 

c) High school of commerce (opened Oct., 
19—). 

la) Regular elementary schools (organized 
18-). 

(i) Boys' school (opened 
18-). 

(2) School for deaf (estab- 
lished 18—). 

(3) Schools of individual 
instruction (defect- 
ives) (opened 18 — ). 

(4) Backward schools (or- 
ganized 19 — ). 

(5) School for cripples 
(opened 19 — ). 

(6) School for blind 
(opened 19 — ). 

(7) Elementary industrial 
school (organized. 

19-). 
4. Kindergarten (opened — ). 

a) Evening elementary schools (opened 



Elementary school. / 6) Special ele- 
mentary 
schools. 



5. Evening school. 



6. Summer school . 



-). 
b) Evening high schools (opened 19 — ). 

a) Summer high school (opened 19 — ). 

b) Summer grammar schools (opened 

19—). 

c) Summer primary schools (opened 18 — ). 

d) Summer manual-training school (opened 

19—). 

e) Summer boys' school (opened 19 — ). 
/) Summer kindergartens (opened 19 — ). 
g) Summer playgrounds (opened 19 — ). 
Etc., etc. 



SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS RELATING TO STATE REPORTS 

A. That the state departments adopt forms for receiving statistics 
from the units within the state similar, as far as practicable, in arrangement 
to those used by the Bureau of Education. 

B. That all the state departments in gathering information adopt 
as a basis the items accepted by the practice of a majority of states and 
of the Bureau of Education. 



8 



NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 



C. That educational statistics be reported for the year ending June 30. 

D. That each state report be made the clearing-house of information 
of all educational institutions and activities within the state. 

E. That the state report give publicity to any local investigations 
whose findings would have general interest and that it include the findings 
of state-wide investigations covering matters of state-wide application, 

F. That special bulletins or reports be issued at opportune times. 

G. That tables be arranged to show comparisons covering a range 
of years and that certain phases of educational activity be reported at 
decennial or other periods. 

H. That larger attention be paid to the interpretation of statistics. 

CITY SCHOOL REPORTS 

The need for the gathering of data showing actual conditions in the 
schools is obvious. If the school is to be scientifically managed, and its 
effectiveness definitely measured by fixed tests, eliminating mere personal 
bias and unsupported opinion, facts must be collected and employed as a 
guide to administration. 

For convenience, an outline showing the organization of the school 
system, together with the date of introduction of various kinds of activities, 
such as evening schools, summer schools, manual training, etc., should 
constitute part of a school report. The outline on the opposite page 
suggests merely one form in which this may be expressed. 

teachers' salary table 

Obviously, the question of salaries is important. For purposes of 
comparison, it is desirable to gather data showing the number of teachers 
at the various salary units indicated in the following table: 



Number of Elementary-School Teachers with 
Salaries 



Below $35 

$350 to i 

400 to 

450 to 

500 to 

550 to 

600 to 

650 to 

700 to 

750 to 

800 to 

850 to 

900 to 

950 to I 

1,000 to I 

1,050 to I 

1,100 to I 

1,150 to I 

1,200 and 



450- 
500. 

55°- 
600. 
650. 
700. 
750. 
800. 
850. 
900. 

950- 
,000. 
,050. 



,150... 
,200.. . 
above. 



Number of High-School Teachers with 
Salaries 



(;oo. . . 

J600. 

700. 

800. 

900. 



Below 

$500 to 

600 to 

700 to 

800 to 

900 to 1 ,000. . . 
1,000 to 1,100. . . 
1,100 to 1,200. . . 
1,200 to 1,300. . . 
1 ,300 to 1 ,400. . . 
1,400 to 1,500. . . 
1,500 to 1,600. . . 
1,600 to 1,700. . . 
1,700 to 1,800. . . 
1 ,800 to 1 ,900. . . 
1,900 to 2,000. . . 
2,000 and above. 



!SM^ jy^W^;^« i^'CT <?l 



COMMITTEE ON UNIFORM RECORDS AND REPORTS 9 

The following form of table is used to show the percentage of teachers 
for the various periods of service: 



Percentage of Elementary Teachers 
for the Period 


Percent- 
age 


Percentage of High-School Teachers 
for the Period 


Percent- 
age 






Under 5 years 








5 to 9 years 








10 to 14 years 








I ■; to 10 years 








20 to 24 years 








2 < to 20 years 




30 years and above. 




30 years and above 













UNITS or COST 

Increasing interest centers in cost. It is important that the per capita 
cost of instruction, on the one hand, and of equipment and supplies, on 
the other, should be shown not only city wide, but also per building. The 
per capita cost for each subject in the high school, for example, chemistry, 
physics, manual training, etc., should be shown for each building, and also 
city wide. Moreover, for purposes of comparison, these tables of cost 
should cover a period of 5 or even 10 years. Not only does economy in 
educational supplies and educational equipment follow such exhibit of 
tables of cost, but it leads to unification and standardization of educational 
equipment in the various buildings in a school district. Tables similar 
to the following will be found helpful : 

PER CAPITA COST OF INSTRUCTION 

TABLE I 
Showing Cost of Instruction in the Regular Day Elementary Schools, for the 
Years 1903-12, the Enrollment, the Per Capita Cost of Instruction, the 
Increase and the Percentage of Increase in Per Capita Cost of Each Year 
over the Preceding, Also the Percentage of Increase in Per Capita Cosr 
Since 1903 



Years 


Cost of 
Instruction 
in Regular 
Day Ele- 
mentary 
Schools 


Enrollment 

in Regular 
Day Ele- 
mentary 
Schools, 

or Average 
Daily 

Attendance, 
or Both 


Per Capita 

Cost of 
Instruction 
in Regular 
Day Ele- 
mentary 
School 


Increase in 
Per Capita 
Cost over 
Preceding 
Year 


Percentage 

of Increase 

in Per 

Capita 

Cost over 

Preceding 

Year 


Percentage^ 

of 

Increase 

in 

Per Capita- 

Cost 
Since 1903 


1902-3 














100^— A 














1004.— ? 














IQC^— 6 














1906-7 














IQ07— 8 














1008— 














lOOQ— 10 














I9IO— II 














I9II— 12 





























NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 



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Total cost of instruction 

Office supervision 

General supervision 

Kindergarten supervision 

German supervision 

Penmanship supervision . . 

Music supervision 

Drawing supervision 

Manual-training super- 
vision 

Physical training super- 
vision 

Normal school 

High schools 

Academic high schools 

Regular instruction 

Special instruction 

Music 

Drawing 

Physical training 

Technical high school 

High school of commerce . . . 



COMMITTEE ON UNIFORM RECORDS AND REPORTS 



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Elementary schools 

Regular elementary schools . 

Regular instruction 

Special instruction 

German 

Manual training and 

cooking 

Special elementary schools . . 

School for deaf 

School for blind 

Boys' school 

Special schools 

Elementary industrial. . . . 

Backward schools 

School for cripples 

Kindergarten 

Evening schools 

Evening high school 

Evening elementary school . . 

Summer schools 

Summer high school 

Summer elementary 

school 

Grammar school 

Primary school 

Boys' school 

Manual-training 

school 

Kindergarten 

Playgrounds 



12 



NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 



TABLE III 

Showing Cost of Instruction, Enrollment, and per Capita Cost of 

Instruction in Each Type of School in the City of , 

for the Year 



Cost of In- 
struction 



Enrollment 
or Average 
Daily At- 
tendance 



Per Capita 
Cost of In- 
struction 



Normal 

High schools 

Academic high school 

Technical high school 

High school of commerce . . . 

Elementary schools 

Regular elementary 

Special elementary. 

Backward school 

School for blind 

Boys' school 

School for cripples ....... 

School for deaf 

Elementary industrial. . . . 

Special schools 

Kindergarten 

Evening schools 

Evening high schools 

Evening elementary schools . 

Summer schools 

Summer high schools 

Summer elementary schools . 

Grammar school 

Primary school 

Manual-training school . . . 

Boys' school 

Kindergarten 

Playgrounds 



The following table is a type by which may be shown various statistical 
items of interest and value covering a period of years: 

TABLE IV 

Showing Enrollment in the Regular Day Elementary School for the Years 
1903-12, the Number of Teachers in the Regular Day Elementary School, 
Number of Pupils per Teacher, the Decrease in Number Pupils per Teacher 
over Preceding Year, and the Percentage of Decrease in Number of Pupils 
PER Teacher since 1903 



1902-3 . . 
1903-4. . 
1904-S . . 
1905-6 . . 
1906-7 . . 
1907-8. . 
1908-9 . . 
1909-10 
1910-11 . 
1911-12. 



Enrollment 

Regular Day 

Elementary 

School* 



Teachers in 

Regular Day 

Elementary 

School 



Pupils per 

Teacher in 

Regular Day 

Elementary 

School 



Decrease over 
Preceding Year 
in Number Pu- 
pils per 
Teacher in 
Regular Day 
Elementary 
School 



Percentage of 
Decrease in 

Number Pupils 
per Teacher 
since 1903 



* Exclusive of transfers and the enrollment of all special schools 



WMKgJwMllmll 



COMMITTEE ON UNIFORM RECORDS AND REPORTS 



13 



TABLE V 
Showing the Enrollment in the Regular Day Elementary Schools for the 
Years 1903-12, the Number of Regular Teachers in the Regular Day Ele- 
mentary Schools, the Average Number Pupils per Regular Teacher, the 
Decrease in Number of Pupils over the Preceding Year, Also the Per- 
centage of Decrease in Number of Pupils per Regular Teacher since 1903 



Enrollment 

Regular Day 

Elementary 

Schools 



Number Regular 

Teachers 

Regular Day 

Elementary 

Schools 



Number Pupils 

per Regular 

Teacher Regular 

Day Elementary 

Schools 



Decrease in 

Number Pupils 

per Regular 

Teacher 



Percentage of 

Decrease in 

Number Pupils 

per Regular 

Teacher since 

IQ03 



1902-3 . . 
1903-4 . . 
1904-5 . , 
1905-6 . , 
1906-7 . . 
1907-8 . 
1908-9 . . 
1909-10. 
1910-II. 
1911-12 . 



TABLE VI 

Showing Enrollment in Latin, English, Algebra, etc., the Number 
Dropping Out and Failing in Each High-School Class 





Number 
Enrolled in 
the Study 


Number 

Dropping 

Study 


Number 
Remaining 


Failures of 

Number 

Remaining 

to End of 

Year 


Total Fail- 
ing and 
Dropping 
Study 


Percentage 
of Failures 
of Those 
Remaining 
to End of 
Year 


Percentage 

of Total 

Failures 

and Drop- 

ing Study 


I Latin . . . 
















II Latin . . . 
















Ill Latin. . . 
















IV Latin . . . 
















I English. 
















II English . 
















Ill English. 
















rV English. 
















Algebra 
















Etc 

































ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS 

Every report should contain a table of contents, showing not only the 
general headings treated in the report, but also the subheads. Such reports 
should also contain a carefully prepared index. These two items make 
usable the school report and are important factors in its make-up. 

Every annual report of a city superintendent should also contain tables 
showing enrollment, distribution of enrollment, withdrawals, distribution 
of withdrawals, nonpromotions, distribution of nonpromotions, etc. 
Information upon which these figures may be compiled should be gathered 
on forms similar to those which are named immediately below by title, and 



14 



NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 



which are printed on the pages following with the exception of all but one 
of those forms which pertain to high schools. As the high-school forms 
are similar in all essential respects to those for the elementary schools, 
it has not seemed necessary to print them. These same forms may also 
be used in the superintendent's annual report for the presentation of statis- 
tics upon these same points. 

Elementary Schools 
principal's term report 

A. Enrollment, promotions, nonpromotions, by grades. 

B. Distribution of enrollment by ages and grades. 

C. Distribution of withdrawals by ages and causes. 

D. Distribution of attendance. 

E. Graduates by years in schools. 

F. Nonpromotions by grades and causes. 

G. Failures, by studies and grades. 

H. Distribution of leavings and withdrawals by ages and grades. 

I. Ages of graduates. 

J. Enrollment and attendance. 

K. Distribution of whole-time teachers. 

teacher's term report 

L. Enrollment by divisions. 

M. Nonpromotions by grades and causes. 

N. Failures by studies and grades. 

O. Enrollment and attendance. 

P. Distribution of enrollment by ages. 

Q. Distribution of withdrawals by ages and causes. 

R. Distribution of leavings by ages. 

S. Beginners by training. 

T. Beginners by ages. 

High Schools 



principal S TERM REPORT 

AA. Enrollment and attendance. 

BB. Distribution of enrollment by ages and classes. 

CC. Source of new pupils. 

DD. Ages of new pupils. 

EE. Distribution of leavings and withdrawals by ages and classes. 

FF. Ages of graduates. 

GG. Distribution of enrollment, number leaving, withdrawals, by classes and terms. 

HH. Distribution of enrollment, number leaving, withdrawals, by courses and classes ■ 

II. Distribution of withdrawals by classes, ages, causes. 

JJ. Graduates by year in school. 

KK. Distribution of teachers. 

LL. Enrollment in studies and failures in each. 



COMMITTEE ON UNIFORM RECORDS AND REPORTS 



IS 



TEACHER S TERM REPORT 

MM. Enrollment and attendance. 

NN. Distribution of enrollment by ages and classes. 

00. Soiirce of new pupils. 

PP. Ages of new pupils. 

QQ. Distribution of enrollment, number leaving, withdrawals, by classes and terms. 

RR. Distribution of enrollment, number leaving, withdrawals, by courses and classes . 

SS. Distribution of withdrawals. 

TT. Distribution of leavings and withdrawals, by ages and classes. 

UU. Age of graduates. 

VV. Graduates by years in school. 



Report op the 



PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 
School, for the Term Eistding 



191- 



ENROLLMENT, PROMOTIONS, NONPROMOTIONS, BY GRADES 

All percentages will be figured at oflSce of superintendent. 





First Grade 


'2 

S 
8 

tn 

Ui 

OJ 

60 
;-■ 



1 


Total 




Divisions 


Total 


All Grades 




C 


B 


A 


1 


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"3 





5 






B. 


G. 


T. 


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^ 


EnroUment for term .... 




























In division first time . 
































Previously in division . 
































Leaving 
































Withdrawals 
































EnroUment at date this 
report 
































Percentage enrollment at 
date on enroUment 
for term 
































Promotions: One divi- 
sion only 
































Percentage on enroU- 
ment at date 
































Percentage on enroU- 
ment for term 
































Promotions: Two divi- 
sions 
































Percentage on enroU- 
ment at date- 
































Percentage on enroU- 
ment for term 
































Nonpromotions 
































From in division first 
time 
































From previously in di- 
vision 
































Percentage nonpromo- 
tions on enroUment 
at date 
































Percentage nonpromo- 
tions on enroUment 
for term 






































■■■!""" 


...|... 



















i6 



NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 







I^iox 






























cd 












O 


SHIO 
























s^og :;::::::::::::: 








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(U 
> 


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• • 


















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o 


in 






























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J3 




























3 


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o 












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sXog 










s 




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1 




















a 












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3 






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•a 
















a 


















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sXog 














I^iox 




















ii 


SPIO 




• : 








i^ 















sXog 












at 












lA 












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Total by grades 
Below normal age . . 

Normal age 

Above normal age . . 






























flJfl^^4JQJ4>l>l>QJ(L)ajCJ<L)fl^<LI 










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M M M l-l M CN 





COMMITTEE ON UNIFORM RECORDS AND REPORTS 



17 



asQvo H0V3 01 
1TV io aoviNaosaj; 



I^iox 



sP!0 



sjtoa 



si^IO 



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SF!D 



sXog 



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sXog 



SH!0 



sXog 



SPJO 



sXog 



SF!0 



sXoa 



SP!0 



sXog 



SP!0 



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si«0 



sxoa 



SP!0 



sXog 



SPIO 



sjCog 



SPIO 



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sXog 



SPIO 



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c3 


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C 


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■■^ '73 »-t-l ^ 
Ci rf 0) O 



NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 



DISTRIBUTION OF ATTENDANCE 



Time 



Boys 



Girls 



Total 



Percentage 
of Whole 
Number 



Attending entire term . 
Attending at least — 
80 days 



70 days 

60 days 

50 days 

40 days 

30 days 

20 days 

10 days 

Attending less than 10 days. 



Total (equal enrollment for term) . 



GRADUATES, BY YEARS IN SCHOOLS'* 



Boys 



Girls 



Total 



Taking six years 

Six and one-third . . . . 

Six and two-thirds . . . 
Taking seven years .... 

Seven and one-third . . 

Seven and two-thirds . 
Taking eight years 

Eight and one-third . . 

Eight and two-thirds . 
Taking nine years 

Nine and one- third . . 

Nine and two-thirds . , 
Taking ten years 



Total. 



* Counting three terms as a school year. Data from promotion record card. 



COMMITTEE ON UNIFORM RECORDS AND REPORTS 



19 



NONPROMOTIONS, BY GRADES AND CAUSES 





Irregular 
Attendance 


Physical 
Defects 


Personal 
Illness 


Incapacity 

(Mental) 


Indiffer- 
ence 


FIRST GRADE* 

( Boys 












C ] Girls 












( Total. 












( Boys 












B \ Girls 












( Total 












( Boys . . 












A i Girls . 












( Total. 












( Bovs 












Total ] Girls 










. . xf 


( Total. . 












SECOND GRADE 

( Boys . . 












C . • • Girls . . 












Total. 












( Bovs 












B ] Girls 












( Total. . 












( Boys . . 












A ] Girls . . 












( Total. 
























Total ] Girls . . 












( Total. . 












THIRD GRADE 

( Boys . . 












C ] Girls . . 
























( Boys 












B . ....■] Girls 












( Total. . 












( Boys . . 












A •] Girls . . 
























( Boys . 












Total ] Girls . . 












( Total. 
























( Boys . . 












Grand total ] Girls . . 












( Total. 
























Percentage of total due each cause 

























* Same form used for grades fourth to eighth. 



20 



NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 



FAILURES, BY STUDIES AND GRADES 





Reading 


Spelling 


Language 


Grammar 


Arithmetic 


History 


Geography 


FIRST GRADE* 

( Boys . . 
















C -^ Girls.. 
















(Total.. 
















( Boys. . 
















B ] Girls.. 
















( Total. . 
















( Boys . . 
















A -^ Girls.. 
















(Total.. 
















(Boys. . 
















Total. . . \ Girls.. 
















( Total. . 
















SECOND GRADE 

(Boys. . 
















C -^ Girls.. 
















(Total.. 
















( Boys. . 
















B ] Girls.. 
















( Total. . 
















( Boys . . 
















A ] Girls.. 
















(Total.. 
















( Boys . . 
















Total . . . •] Girls . . 
















( Total. . 
















THIRD GRADE 

(Boys. . 
















C -^ Girls.. 
















( Total. . 
















( Boys . . 
















B ] Girls.. 

















( Total. . 
















(Boys. . 
















A -^ Girls.. 

















( Total. . 
















(Boys. . 
















Total. .. \ Girls.. 
















( Total. . 
















Grand ( Boys . . 
















total. . \ Girls. . 
















( Total. . 
































Percentage failures 
on enrollment for 
term 

































* Same form used for grades fourth to eighth. 



S^vP^ryrS 



COMMITTEE ON UNIFORM RECORDS AND REPORTS 



21 







mox 






























nS 












O 


SPIO 










H 














sxoa 










I'EIOX 


: : : : : :| 



























^Pi3 :::::: 1 












: : : : : 1 : : : : 






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• • 








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1B10X 









































smO 






























CO 


Sifog 












JH 


I^^ox 
























>< 


smO 














In 














m 




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§ 


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si-no 












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fn 






























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>- 


















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• • 








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b 
















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a 




























1 


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;;;;;;;;;; ^ 






















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2 


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< 






Total by grades 
bw normal age . . 

rmal age 

ove normal age . . 






























0<DiD<U<U(i50(D(U(L)<UCUajcuaj 










>.>.>>!>.>>>,>.>.>.>.>.>.>^>.>> 










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o 


N O 


H 


01 

H 


CO 
H 


H H M H M R (N 







22 



NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 



AGES OF GRADUATES* 




II 


12 


13 


14 


IS 


16 


17 


18 


Total 


Bovs 




















Girls 








































Total 








































* Give age at last birthday. 

ENROLLMENT AND ATTENDANCE 




Boys 


Girls 


Total 


Average monthly enrollment 








Average daily attenda 


nee 



















Term ending 191 



PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Teacher's Term Report 
building Grade 



. Teacher 





grade 




Divisions 


Total 




C 


B 


A 


>> 











B. 


G. 


T. 


B. 


G. 


T. 


B. 


G. 


T. 


cd 

^ 


Enrollment for term 


























In division first time 


























Previously in division 


























Leaving. 


























Withdrawals 


























Enrollment at date of this report 


























Promotions : 

One division only 


























Two divisions 


























Nonpromotions 


























From in division first time 


























Previously in division 





















































■:vi*fw^'';:l'Ci?'^ 



COMMITTEE ON UNIFORM RECORDS AND REPORTS 



23 



NONPROMOTIONS, BY GRADES AND CAUSES 



GRADE 

iBoys. 
Girls. 
Total. 
( Boys . 

] Girls. 

(Total. 

iBoys. 
Girls. 
Total. 
( Boys . 

Total fGirls. 

( Total. 



Percentage total nonpromotions 
due each cause 



Irregular 
Attendance 



Physical 
Defects 



Personal 
Illness 



Incapacity 
(Mental) 



Indiffer- 
ence 



FAILURES, 


BY STUDIES AND GRAI 


)ES 










Read- 
ing 


Spelling 


Lan- 
guage 


Gram- 
mar 


Arith- 
metic 


History 


Geog- 
raphy 


GRADE 
















( Bovs 




C ] Girls . . 
















/ Total 
































B ] Girls . . 
















( Total 
































A ] Girls . . 
















( Total 
































Trttnl ■< Girls 
















( Total 
































Percentage failures on enrollment for 




























* 





Average monthly enrollment . . 

















DISTRIBUTION OF ENROLLMENT AT DATE OF THIS REPORT, BY AGES" 

















Ages 








6 


7 


8 


9 


10 


II 


12 


13 


14 


IS 


16 


17 


18 


19 


20 


Total 





































Girls 


































Tntfll 




















































1 















* This table to be filled in on May report only. 



24 



NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 



< 


>> 

Xi 4) 

■si 


I^IOX 








^KO ::::::: : : : 




s^og ::::::: : : 






M 


sF'O 








sxog ■■■■;:: : : 




OO 


siflO 








sxog ":::::: : : 




I-^ 


SP!0 


::::::: : : 1 




sXog 








vO 


^i-'!o :::::::• : : 






sXog 








I? 


smo 






sXog 








■* 


si-iiO 






sXog 








« 


SH!0 






sXog 








w 


SF!9 






sXog 








n 


si«0 








s^og 








O 


siflO 








sXog 








Ov 


SP!0 








sXog 








00 


spjO 








sXog 


1 ; : : : : : : : : 






- 


siJiO 


1 ; : : : : : : : : 






sXog 






VO 


SF!0 








sXog 










1 

1 




Financial condition of 
home 

lUness in family 

Personal illness 

Physical defects 

Incapacity 

Indifference 

Failing promotion 

Left city and entered no 
school 

To go to work 


t 

1 


1 
i 
J) 
3 

1 

1 
■1 



COMMITTEE ON UNIFORM RECORDS AND REPORTS 25 



DISTRIBUTION OP LEAVINGS, BY AGES 





Ages 




6 


7 


8 


9 


10 


II 


12 


13 


14 


IS 


16 


17 


18 


19 


20 


Total 


Boys 
























^ 










Girk 




































































Total 





































































BEGINNERS I C DIVISION, BY TRAINING 



Boys 



Girls 



Total 



Total number of beginners 

a) Number having received kindergarten training. . . . 

b) Number having received no kindergarten training , 
Promotions 

a) Number having received kindergarten training . . . . 

b) Number having received no kindergarten training . , 
Nonpromotions 

a) Number having received kindergarten training 

' b) Number having received no kindergarten training . 



BEGINNERS I C DIVISION, BY AGES 



Boys 



Girls 



Total 



Sf up 

6 up 
6|up 
6|up 

7 up 
7iup 
7f up 

8 up 
8f up 

9 and 



to6. . 
to6|. 
to6f. 
to 7. . 
toyi. 
to7|. 
to8. . 
to8|. 
to 9. . 
above . 



Total. 



26 



NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 



HIGH SCHOOLS — ENROLLMENT IN STUDIES AND FAILURES IN EACH 





First TERMf 


Studies 
(StJBjECTS Running More 
THAN One Year Indi- 


Enrollment 


Repeaters 


Dropping 


Remaining 


Failures 


tage 
res 

imber 
ining 


cated D. C. B. A.)* 


B. 


G. 


T. 


B. 


G. 


T. 


B. 


G. 


T. 


B. 


G. 


T. 


B. 


G. 


T. 


Percen 
Failu 
on Ni 
Rema 




































D Latin 


































C Latin 


































B Latin 


































A Latin 




































































D German 


































C German 


































B German 


































A. German 




































































B French 


































A French 


































Spanish 


































B Spanish 


































A. Spanish 


































Greek 


































C. Greek 


































B Greek 


































A Greek 


































History 


































American history 
and civics 


































English history. . . . 


































Ancient history . . . 


































Mediaeval and mod- 
ern history 


































Industrial history. . 


































Art history (Euro- 
pean) . 


































Art history (Ameri- 
can) 


































Economics, com- 
mercial law, and 
local industries 













































1 




















* Other studies included, but not listed here, are English, mathematics, science, drawing, manual 
training, industrial activities, commercial activities, physical training, and music, 
t The same forms are used for the second and third terms. 



GENERAL INFORMATION 

A page devoted to this subject should be included in each city report. 
The following subheads are recommended: 
I. Legal basis: 

a) Independent district or city government; if latter, relation of edu-' 
cation department to other departments of the municipal government, 
especially as to raising of money, erection of buildings, and appointment 
of members of board of education. 

b) Method of voting and paying bonds. 



ms^Hmm'Sm^^^M^m 



COMMITTEE ON UNIFORM RECORDS AND REPORTS 



27 



2. Financial basis: 

a) Limits of taxation and bonded indebtedness for school purposes. 

b) Assessed valuation of independent district or municipality. 

c) What percentage of true valuation is the assessed valuation. 

d) Present tax rates for schools. 

e) Amount of bonded indebtedness for schools. 

/) Amount of local school tax paid by owner of real estate whose true 
valuation is $5,000. 

.g) Percentage of total school moneys received from state, county, 
municipality, and school district. 

h) Approximate percentage of school moneys paid by business corpora- 
tions not owned principally by citizens, as railroads and large industrial, 
mining, and commercial enterprises. 

3. a) Population of city compared with population of four preceding 
censuses. 

b) Number engaged in each principal class of occupation — agricultural, 
professional, domestic and personal, trade and transportation, manu- 
facturing and mechanical, and also number engaged in each of the chief 
occupations that are represented in the city under each of these classes. 

4. School census: 

a) Public-school enrollment. 

b) Private-school enrollment. 

c) Average daily attendance based on number belonging. 

d) Average daily attendance based on enrollment. 

e) Average daily attendance based on school census. 

5. Scope of system — number of different kinds of schools, classes, and 
activities. 

6. Organization of administration — relative authority and duties of 
superintendent, assistant superintendent, supervisors, principals, teachers. 

7. Percentage of teachers appointed from outside the city. 

PUPIL RECORDS 



The foundation of all statistics concerning pupils is established in the 
records made by teachers in the schoolroom. Unless these records are 
expressed in common terms having a definite meaning the data gathered 
from them are not comparable. School statistics as at present compiled 
and compared are unreliable and of little value, and they will continue to 
be so until agreement can be reached not only as to terms used and the 
definite meaning of these terms, but also, to some extent, as to the method 
of recording and arranging the original data upon which school statistics 
are based. 

The first work of the committee on uniform statistics consisted of a 
careful investigation of the subject of school records, and this resulted in 



28 NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 

the submission of an elementary-school record system, thru the co-operation 
of the United States commissioner of education, to school superintendents 
thruout the country. Altho several forms were offered for the purpose of 
getting criticisms and suggestions and for the sake of illustrating the com- 
plete working out of a system of school records, chief emphasis was laid on 
the cumulative record card which was framed to serve as a permanent and 
progressive record of the pupil's kindergarten and elementary school 
career. The form recommended is given on p. 586. The card is 6 inches 
wide and 4 inches high. Copies may be obtained from the Bureau of 
Education. 

After an examination of more than 500 replies to that part of the 
commissioner's circular relating to a cumulative record card, the com- 
mittee finds as follows: 

1. That there is substantially unanimous assent to the following general proposition: 
A cumulative record card should be kept for every child thruout his entire kindergarten 

and elementary-school career. 

2. That suggestions made by correspondents have not shown a preponderance of 
opinion in favor of any specific increase or decrease in either the size or content of the 
card. 

3. That in view of those conclusions the card submitted has been adopted as best 
representing the consensus of opinion on the matter of a cumulative record card, and 
the committee recommends the general use of this card or one in substantial agreement 
with it as to the essential facts needed for statistical data and school administration. 

The committee desires to call attention to the following suggestive 
list of uses to which the card may be put: 

1 . Amount of attendance of individual pupil for one year. 

2. Comparative rates of progress in schools having seven-year, eight-year, or nine- 
year elementary courses. 

3. Classification of pupils by age and grade. (Note that a standard date for comput- 
ing ages is established, viz., September i.) 

4. Classification of pupils for enrollment data: 

a) Duphcate enrollment in the school. 

h) From other public schools in town or city. 

c) From other public schools in state. 

d) Original enrollment from all other sources. 

5. Number of times child has been detained in a grade. 

6. Foreign birth as affecting progress. 

7. Kindergarten training as affecting progress. 

8. Attendance in other schools as affecting progress. 

9. Absence as affecting progress. 

10. Numerous inquiries having to do with individual school management. 

Diverse opinions as to the necessity of certain items on the "admis- 
sion, discharge, and promotion card," as, for example, item "Conduct," 
are not necessarily barriers in the way of the uniform use of the form of 
card recommended; for in any school system such an item may be omitted 



COMMITTEE ON UNIFORM RECORDS AND REPORTS 



29 



Elementary School Record System — Promotion 
Record 

This card is to pass from teacher to teacher or from 
school to school as the pupil is promoted or transferred. 
It is to be filled out and sent to the principal's office 
when any change is made requiring a change in the 
ofiice records. It is then to be sent to the teacher 
who has the pupil. 


(a) 
School 


ib) 
Date 
of 
Admis- 
sion 


(0 
Age Sept. I 


id) 
Grade 


ie) 
Room 


(/) 
Days 
Pres- 
ent 


ig) 
Health 


Con- 
duct 


Schol- 
arship 






Yrs. 


Mas. 




























































































































































































































































(over) 



(i) I. Last name 


(2) First name and initial 


Elementary School 






Record System — 
Adsossion, Dis- 
charge, AND Pro- 
motion Card 


(3) Place of birth 


(4) Date of birth 


(5) Vaccinated . . 


To be kept for 
every pupil and sent 
with the pupil when 
he is transferred to 
any school, either 
public or private, in 
the city or outside 
the city. Great care 
should be used to 
have the names com- 
plete and correct. 

Write all dates as 
follows: 191 2-9-25. 


(6) Name of parent or 
guardian 


(7) Occupation of parent or guar- 
dian 






(8) Residence (Use one column at a time. Give new 
residence when pupil is transferred.) 


(9) Date of 
discharge 


(10) Age 






Yrs. 


Mos. 


























When a pupil is permanently discharged to work, to remain at home, or because 
of death, permanent illness, or commitment to an institution, this card is to be 
returned to the principal's office and a full statement of the cause of the pupil's dis- 
charge is to be made in the blank space remaining above. 

8-304 (over) 



3° 



NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 



by direction of the superintendent or left optional with principals. The 
value of a uniform card lies chiefly in three considerations: 

1. Universal adaptability for use in whatever system of schools the pupil may enter. 

2. Decreased cost because of printing in large quantities. 

3. Establishment of common practices of record-making and common terms for the 
expression of facts valuable for statistical investigation. 

It is believed that any general record card recommended for universal 
adoption should not include a detailed statement of facts needed for an 
adequate study of individual cases of physically abnormal and retarded 
children. For such a purpose a special form should be used providing for 
yearly records of defective eye-sight, hearing, condition of teeth, and other 
physical characteristics, and for records concerning nutrition, environment, 
specific cases of illness, special aptitudes, and such other facts as are likely 
to be desired. The exact form of such a card may well be left for future 
consideration. 

The general cumulative record card and this supplementary card 
will represent the minimum and maximum requirements of the individual 
cumulative record. 

The daily register or daily summary should show four groups of admitted 
pupils as follows: 

a) Pupils previously enrolled during the year, including transfers, within the school 
or school district. (This item is thrown out in computing the number of different pupils 
enrolled during the year in a given school or district.) 

h) Pupils previously enrolled during the year in some other school or school district 
in the town or city. (This item is thrown out in computing the number of different pupils 
enrolled during the year in a given town or city.) 

c) Pupils previously enrolled during the year in other towns or cities in the state. 
(This item is thrown out in computing the number of different pupils enrolled during 
the year in a given state.) 

d) Pupils not previously enrolled during the year in any town or city in the state. 
(These are original enrollments included in all reports.) 

It is not useful to attempt a classification of discharged pupils into 
four groups corresponding exactly to the four groups of admitted pupils. 
The following classification is suggested as a desirable one: 

a) Pupils temporarily discharged, and transferred within the school or school district. 
h) Pupils transferred to any other school, public or private. (Graduates separately.) 

c) Pupils permanently discharged to go to work. (Schooling discontinued before 
completion of elementary-school course.) 

d) Pupils discharged for other reasons. (A relatively small number whose schooling 
is discontinued before completion of elementary-school course for accidental reasons.) 

More important, at the present time, than forms for recording 
attendance and enrollment data, is the securing of a common terminology 
for certain conditions of attendance and enrollment. The following 
definitions are submitted as representative of the best practice: 



COMMITTEE ON UNIFORM RECORDS AND REPORTS 



31 



1. Age and Grade Classification.— For this purpose the age on the ist day of, 
September should be "used. This is the age at which, approximately, the pupil enters upon 
the work of a new grade. There are good reasons for taking it in preference to January i 
the day on which the work of the grade is partially completed, or July i, the a^pproximate 
date on which the work of the grade is finished. It is commonly used in school census enumera- 
tions, and is conveniently near the time at which a great majority of pupils enter school. 
If once recorded on the "admission, discharge, and promotion card" it can be made a matter 
of record for each succeeding year with practically no effort and with little likelihood of error. 

2. Number Enrolled. — It is generally understood that this item means the number 
enrolled exclusive of duplication, in whatever school unit it is reported for. The way in 
which this number may be ascertained is indicated under "enrollment data," above. 

3. Number Belonging. — As soon as a pupil is known to have left the school without 
intention to return he ceases at once to belong and he is not thereafter included in the number 
belonging. If absent under any other circumstances he is carried 071 the rolls as "belonging," 
and marked absent for three consecutive days {or until he returns if his consecutive absence 
is less than three days in duration). He is "temporarily discharged" at the end of three 
consecutive days of absence, and then ceases to "belong" until he returns to school and is 
"readmitted." 

A period of three days is suggested as the limit of time during which pupils may be 
counted as "belonging," for the reason that it is believed to represent the common practice in 
amajority of the states. 

N. B. — "Average number belonging" means the same as "average membership." The' 
average number belonging is found by the same process as the average attendance. 

4. Average Attendance. — The average daily attendance during the school year {which 
is the average number of pupils actually present each day the schools were in session) may be 
computed as follows: 

a) For a single school: Add together the number of days each pupil was present during the 
year or the number of pupils present each day during the year, and divide the sum {which is the 
"aggregate attendance in days") by the number of siich school days. 

b) For a group of schools having the same number of days in the year {as the schools of 
most cities have): Divide the combined aggregate attendance in days of all the schools by the 
number of days in the school year. 

c) For a system of schools having different lengths of school year {as, for instance, those 
of a county): Add together the average attendance of the component schools and groups of the 
system as ascertained by the foregoing rules. For larger systems, as those of a state, the 
summing-up process is continued in the same way. 

Note. — In systems of schools where monthly reports of attendance are called for the 
general principles of {a), {b), and (c), above, apply to the finding of monthly averages. The 
sum of the monthly averages of attendance in the schools of most cities, divided by the number of 
months, is approximately the same as the average attendance for the year found by the methods 
given above. ' 

5. Average Number of Days in the School Year. — In a school system having 
different lengths of school year in its various units [as in {c), above], the average number of 
days in the school year is found by dividing the combined "aggregate attendance in days" 
of all schools of the system by the "average attendance" as ascertained by the method given in (c) . 

6. Distributed Attendance. — Distributed attendance is the attendance of individual 
pupils distributed by groups according to the number of days they have attended school during 
the year. 

A record of the number of days attended by each pupil during the year is provided for on 
the "admission, discharge, and promotion card," and it is believed that such a record, if 
generally kepi, will prove to be of great interest and value in measuring school efficiency. 



^aiiiii 




32 



NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 



FISCAL STATISTICS 

In order to determine the cost of any particular part of our system of 
education, it is necessary not only to have adequate statistics concerning 
pupils and teachers, but also a report of fiscal statistics differentiated, not 
only with regard to the purpose for which money is spent, but also with 
regard to the special types of schools which are found in a given city. 
The form of report recommended by the committee provides for such 
differentiation as will enable anyone to make adequate comparisons among 
the several cities of the United States, and at the same time calls for a 
system of accounts which will make it possible to discover the cost of 
particular types of schools within the system itself. 

The form which follows was agreed upon by a committee of representa- 
tives from the United States Bureau of Education, the Census Office, the 
Association of School Accounting Officers, and the Committee on Uniform 
Records and Reports of the Department of Superintendence. This schedule 
for reporting fiscal statistics is the one now sent out by the United States 
Bureau of Education. It is q.s follows: 



COMMITTEE ON UNIFORM RECORDS AND REPORTS 



33 



A. PAYMENTS 
I. Expenses (Cost of Conducting School System) 





Total 


Salaries 


Other 
Objects 


Expenses of General Control {Overhead Charges) 
I. Board of education and secretary's office 








2. School elections and school census 












3. Finance offices and accounts 

4. Legal services 




1 








1 








5. Operation and maintenance of office buil 

6. Offices in charge of buildings an^ suppUe 


ding 








s 
























7. Office of superintendent of schools 

8. Enforcement of compulsory educa 










tion and truanrv 








laws 1 








9. Other expenses of general co 


ntrol 
















10. Total 


















Total 


Schools and Special Activities 




Day 

Schools 


Evening 
Schools 





"[3 

1 


J, 

=> 
-a 
a 

hH 


U 


V 





,U 

in 

'0 

0. 

CO 






111 


Sffi 




>> 

n 
•a 

d 

8 


.2 

< 
1 

s, 


Expenses of Instruction 

II. Salaries of supervisors of 
grades and subjects 




















12. Other expenses of super- 
visors . 




















13. Salaries of principals and 
their clerks 




















14. Other expenses of principals 




















15. Salaries of teachers 




















16. Textbooks 




















17. Stationery and supplies used 
in instruction 




















18. Other expenses of instruction 






































19. Total 








































Expenses of Operation of 
School Plant 

20. Wages of janitors and other 
employees 




















21. Fuel '. . . . 




















22. Water 




















23. Light and power 




















24. Janitor's supphes 




















25. Other expenses of operation 
of school plant 


























































26. Total 









































34 



NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 



A. FAYMENTS—Conlinued 
I. Expenses (Cost of Conducting School System) — Continued 





Total 


Schools and Special Activities 




Day 
Schools 


Evening 
Schools 


1 

S 



3 

13 

e 


i> 


1 

"d 
1 






c 

ci C bo 

3-^ 


>-• 

T3J3 


B 

' 3 


C 


(U 


< 

a 


Expenses of Maintenance 
of School Plant 

27. Repair of buildings and 
upkeep of grounds 




















28. Repair and replacement of 
equipment 




















29. Insurance 




















30. Other expenses of mainte- 
nance of school plant .... 








































31. Total 








































Expenses of Auxiliary 
Agencies 

LIBRARIES 

32. Salaries 




















^'?. Books 




















34. Other expenses 




















PROMOTION OF HEALTH 

•?>;. Salaries 




















36. Other expenses 




















TRANSPORTATION OF PUPILS 

37 Salaries . . 




















38 Other expenses 






















— 


















■?o. Total 






































Miscellaneous Expenses 

40. Payments to private schools 

41. Payments to schools of other 

civil divisions 






































42. Care of children in institu- 
tions 




















43 Pensions 




















44 Rent 




















45. Other miscellaneous 
expenses 








































46. Total 









































COMMITTEE ON UNIFORM RECORDS AND REPORTS 



35 



A. FAYME^iTS— Continued 
II. Outlays (Capital Acquisition and Construction) 



47. Land 




















48. New buildings 




















49. Alteration of old buildings. . 




















50. Equipment of new buildings 
and grounds 




















51. Equipment of old buildings, 
exclusive of replacements . 








































52. Total 









































III. Other Payments 



53. Redemption of bonds 

54. Redemption of short-term loans 

55. Payment of warrants and orders of preceding year 

56. Payments to sinking funds 

57. Payments of interest 

58. Miscellaneous payments, including payments to trust funds, text- 

books to be sold to pupils, etc 



59. Total 

•60. Balances at close of year at . 



61. 



Total payments and balances . 



B. RECEIPTS 

Revenue Receipts 

62. Subventions and grants from state 

63. Subventions and grants from county 

64. Subventions and grants from other civil divisions 

65. Appropriations from city treasury 

66. General property taxes 

67. Business taxes (licenses, excise taxes, taxes on corporations, taxes on 

occupations, etc.) 

68. Poll taxes 

69. Fines and penalties 

70. Rents and interest 

71. Tuition and other fees from patrons 

72. Transfers from other districts in payment of tuition 

73. AU other revenue 

74. Total revenue receipts 

Non-Revenue Receipts 

75. Loans and bond sales 

76. Warrants issued and unpaid 

77. Sales of real property and proceeds of insurance adjustments 

78. Sales of equipment and suppUes 

79. Refund of payments 

80. Other non-revenue receipts 

81. Total non-revenue receipts 

82. Total receipts 

83. Balances at beginning of year 

84. Total receipts and balances 



36 



NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 



C. VALUE OF SCHOOL PROPERTIES 



Class of Buildings 



Total Value 
of Sites, 
Buildings, 

and 
Equipment 



Value of 
Sites and 
Buildings 



Value of 
Equipment 



Interest on 

Value 

of School 

Plant 



General control 

Elementary schools 

Secondary schools 

Normal schools 

Schools for the industries . 
Special schools 



DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED IN THE SCHEDULE FOR REPORTING 
THE FISCAL STATISTICS OF CITIES 



Total. — Under this heading include the sum of all figures in the columns 
to the right, these columns to contain no duplicates. 

Schools for the industries. — Include only those schools which offer 
training in specific vocations. Do not include those schools in which 
instruction in hand training is ofi'ered with a general educational aim, as, 
for example, the prevailing type of manual-training high school. 

Special schools. — Include schools for blind, deaf, feeble-minded, delin- 
quents, dependents, etc. 

Special activities. — Include lectures, playgrounds, social centers, etc. 

ITEMS 

School year. — Report data for the school year instead of the fiscal year 
when they conflict, if this is possible without much additional labor. 

Net payments and receipts only to be reported. — The receipts and pay- 
ments to be reported must in all cases be net; i.e., the receipts must always 
show the total amounts received from all sources less any amounts received 
in error and later corrected by refund payments; and the payments must 
always show the total amounts paid for the different objects less any 
amounts paid in error and later corrected by refund receipts. 



Item 6. Offices in charge of buildings and supplies. — Divide this item 
into two parts when possible, placing upon the first dotted line expenses 
of "ofl&ces in charge of buildings," including those having charge of the 
construction and maintenance of physical properties, such as superintendent 
of buildings, school architects, insrjector of buildings, superintendent of 
repairs, and schoolhouse commission. Payments to special employees 
engaged exclusively on new work should be charged to outlays. Opposite 
"offices in charge of supplier" upon the second line, report expenses of the 
offices of superintendent of supplies, business manager, or other officers 
whose duties are concerned with the purchase and distribution of supplies. 



COMMITTEE ON UNIFORM RECORDS AND REPORTS 



37 



Item 7. Office of superintendent of schools. — Include all payments for 
salaries and expenses of the superintendent of schools and of those subordi- 
nate administrative officers whose duties are largely administrative and who 
are not primarily supervisors of instruction, such as assistant superintendent 
and board of examiners. See Item 11. 

Item 8. Enforcement of compulsory-education and truancy laws. — 
Include salaries and office expenses of truant officers and police officers 
detailed as truant officers if paid out of school fund. (Payments for 
expenses of truant and parental schools should not be entered here, but in 
column headed "Special Schools.") 

Item II. Salaries of supervisors of grades and subjects. — Include salaries 
of assistant superintendents whose duties are mainly connected with the 
supervision of instruction and of supervisors of special subjects and of 
grades, including only those who devote half or more than half of their 
time to supervision. Include also the salaries of clerks of such officers. 

In case an employee renders service in more than one kind of school in 
the same capacity, as that of a supervisor, prorate his salary, clerk hire, 
and other expenses between the different kinds of schools according to the 
amount of time devoted by him to each, charging the expense to the same 
account under each kind of school. 

In case an employee performs one function in one kind of school and 
another function in another kind of school, as that of supervisor in the 
elementary schools and that of teacher in the secondary schools, charge 
his salary, clerk hire, and other expenses to the accounts corresponding to 
the function to which he gives the major portion of his time (if his time is 
evenly divided, to the higher function, as supervisor) and to the kind of 
school in which he exercises such function. 

Item I J. Salaries of principals. — This item includes supervising princi- 
pals, principals of groups and districts, and principals of buildings or 
similar units, including only those persons devoting half or more than 
half of their time to administration and supervision of instruction. 

Item 15. Teachers. — Include all regular, special, and model teachers who 
devote more than half of their time to instruction. 

Item 16. Textbooks. — ^Include only the payments for free textbooks 
furnished the pupils. The payments for textbooks purchased to sell to 
pupils should be reported under Item 58. 

Item I'j. Supplies. — Supplies are those things which when once used 
are actually or constructively consumed, including such items as writing- 
paper, drawing-paper, blank books, pencils, pens, adhesives, fasteners, 
carbon paper, rubber stamps, supplies for typewriter, and other mechanical 
office or school devices; magazines, newspapers, and other printed matter 
for current use; textbooks (for students, not purchased for library); test 
tubes, litmus paper, filter paper; polishing and abrading supplies; brooms 
and scrub brushes; drugs, chemicals, cleansers; laboratory supplies; 



38 



NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 



wearing-apparel; food supplies; flags; recreational supplies, etc. Include 
also freight and cartage of such items. Supplies used in instruction should 
be included under Item 17; those used in operation of plant, under Item 
24. See also definition of equipment, Item 50. 

Item 18. — Other expenses of instruction. — ^These items include other 
expenses incident to instruction, as rent of halls for graduation exercises, 
diplomas, etc. 

Item 21. Fuel. — Include also freight, cartage, and weighing charges. 

Item 24. Janitor's supplies. — See Item 17. 

Item 27. Repair of buildings and upkeep of grounds. — Include pay- 
ments for labor and materials incident to the repair of buildings, including 
painting, glazing, and of plumbing, lighting, heating, and ventilation 
equipment, and all payments for labor and materials incident to keeping 
the grounds in normal condition. 

Item 28. Repairs and replacement of equipment. — For definition of 
equipment see Items 50 and 51. 

Items J2, J J, and 34. Library expenses. — Payments for these expenses 
should be distributed according to the kind of school. Pa3anents by school 
authorities for the maintenance of libraries used principally by the general 
public and not exclusively by t]je schools should be reported under " Special 
Activities." 

Items 25 ^^^^ 3^- Promotion of health. — Report all payments for 
general promotion of health and distribute them among the various kinds 
of schools and educational activities as far as possible. Among the expenses 
that should be distributed to the different kinds of schools and special 
activities are "supervisors of physical training," "care and upkeep of play- 
grounds," etc. Payments for ofl&ces of directors and other overhead 
charges should be reported on the margin or on separate sheet under proper 
heads, as "clinic," etc. 

Items 40 and 42. Payments to private schools and institutions. ^-Kepovt 
all payments by the school system to private schools and institutions for 
the care and instruction of children in schools and institutions other than 
those belonging to the school system. These payments should be 
distributed as called for by the wording of the two lines, according to the 
kind of school or institution in which the children are kept; if in a day 
school or night school they should be given in the columns for such schools ; 
while if in an institution furnishing board and clothing they should be 
placed in the column for special schools. 

Item 44. Rent. — Charges for rent of offices used by the general adminis- 
tration should be reported under Item 8. 

Items 47-51. Outlays. — Under "Outlays" report payments for lands, 
new buildings, new equipment, additions to buildings, or extensive altera- 
tions that materially change and improve the buildings, classifying these 
payments as called for by these items. Include with payments for land all 



J!»af|gifl1»»S^iMi 



COMMITTEE ON UNIFORM RECORDS AND REPORTS 39 

costs of acquiring title, original grading, and improvements to the grounds, 
artesian wells, etc. Include with payments for new buildings, architects' 
fees, advertising for contracts, payments on contracts for construction,' 
installation of plumbing, lighting, heating, and ventilation equipment, etc. 

All reports of payments for new equipment for general administration 
offices and all reports of payments for the acquisition, construction, or 
equipment of new buildings for the general administration should be 
reported in a column marked "Administration" on the margin or on an 
extra sheet. 

Items 50-51. Equipment. — All things other than buildings, fences, 
and similar structures which are adapted to continuous use for increasing 
the efficiency or economy of human effort, including motors, power-operated 
machinery and accessories, hand tools, clocks, pianos, window shades, 
laboratory apparatus, furniture and furnishings, desks, globes, maps, charts, 
and typewriters, blackboards, except when included in contract for new 
buildings, wagons, harness, and other things used in transportation, fire- 
fighting apparatus, including hose, extinguishers, etc. (For convenience, 
lighting, plumbing, heating, and ventilating equipment are considered as 
part of the building.) 

Item 58. Miscellaneous payments. — Include also any excess of the 
amount paid for supplies purchased for a storeroom over the amount issued 
on requisition, and expenses for school lunchrooms carried on by school 
funds. 

RECEIPTS 

Items 62-64. Subventions and grants. — Include all "subventions and 
grants whether obtained from income from state funds, from leases of 
school lands, from appropriations, or from general property, business or poll 
taxes, or from fines and penalties. 

Item 65. Appropriations from city treasury. — School systems that are 
administered as departments of the city government will report after Item 
65 the aggregate appropriations from the city treasury for the use of school 
systems less any amounts that are derived from specific sources and are 
used exclusively for specific school purposes. These generally include 
amounts that for independent school districts would be reported after 
Inquiries 62, 63, 64, 71, 72, and, in some cases, 66. All amounts deducted 
as above directed from the aggregate appropriations should be reported 
on these lines as in the case of independent school districts. 

Item 'jS. Sales of equipment and supplies. — ^Include receipts from 
sale of textbooks and supplies to pupils; also any excess of the amount of 
supplies issued on requisition from a storeroom over the amount paid for 
supplies; also receipts from lunchrooms carried on by school funds, from 
admission to public entertainments, etc. 



40 



NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 



DEFINITIONS OF FISCAL ITEMS IN THE SCHEDULE FOR STATE SYSTEMS AND IN 
THE ABRIDGED FISCAL SCHEDULE FOR CITIES 

The definitions of the items in the standard fiscal schedule for cities 
apply to the same items in the standard schedule for state systems and in 
the abridged city schedule, but many of the items in the last two are com- 
binations of one or more items in the first schedule. A table is given below- 
showing how this combination has been made. In order to ascertain the 
kinds of expenses that should be charged to any item in either of the last 
two schedules the definitions of all the items in the standard schedule which 
were combined in order to make the item should be consulted. Thus, to 
determine the expenses to be charged to Item lo in the abridged schedule for 
cities, the definition for Items 22, 23, 24, and 25 in the standard schedule 
must be followed, as is indicated in the following table. Similarly, the 
expenses to be charged to 286 in the state schedule are given in definitions 
of Items 21 to 25, inclusive. 



TABLE SHOWING MANNER OF "TELESCOPING" ITEMS OF STANDARD 
FISCAL SCHEDULE INTO ITEMS OF OTHER SCHEDULES 



state Schedule 


Abridged City Schedule 


standard City Schedule 






/ I 






I 2 


26a 


I 


14 


26b) 
26c] 


2 


f 5 

(11 
( 12 




(3 


27a 


I 


(I4 


276 


5 


IS 




\6 


16 


27c 


I 


Vi 


28a 


8 


20 




9 


21 


286 




22 
23 


, 


r 


24 
25 


29 


II 


27 
28 
29 

\30 



mMmmmmfmmm'msMm 



COMMITTEE ON UNIFORM RECORDS AND REPORTS 



41 



TABLE SHOWING MANNER OF "TELESCOPING" ITEMS OF STANDARD 
FISCAL SCHEDULE INTO ITEMS OF OTHER SCHEBVLES— Continued 



Stated Schedule 


Abridged City Schedule 


Standard City Schedule 






(32 


30a 


12 


133 

(34 


30& 


13 


^35 


30c 


14 


^37 

/40 
\4i 


31 


IS 


/42 

143 
( 44 






\45 
(47 


32 


17 


J48 
(49 

/SI 


33 


18 






/53 






S4 


34 


21 


55 
\56 


35 


20 


57 




22 


58 




25 


62 




26 


63 




27 


64 




28 


65 




29 


66 




30 


67 




31 


68 




32 


69 




33 


70 




34 


71 




35. 


72 




36 


73 




38 


I 76 




39 


(77 
( 78 




40 


\ 79 
/80 



Progress in the field of school records and reports will be made possible 
by the co-operation of superintendents thruout the United States with the 
Bureau of Education and with the committee of this department, should 
such a committee be permanently appointed. The discussion of this com- 
mittee and the forms which are submitted herewith have the advantage of 
having been formulated after a careful study of records and reports which 



mmmm^mmmmsMmmm:': 



42 



NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 



are at present in use in our various school systems. That they may be 
improved upon is fully realized by those who have contributed to the dis- 
cussion and investigation which has led to the formulation of this report. 

Payson Smith, Chairman 
George Drayton Strayer, Secretary 
William H. Elson 
E. C. Warriner 
Charles M. Lamprey 

blank forms recommended to accompany the report of the committee 
ON uniform records and reports 

The following sample forms are submitted as models for use of teachers 
in keeping the daily register, in making monthly reports to the principal, 
and for the use of the principal in making the monthly report to the superin- 
tendent. The forms submitted represent the minimum requirement. 
Space is found on both the teacher's monthly report blank and the princi- 
pal's monthly report for additional local data which may be required in 
any school system. The recommended forms printed on the following 
pages are these: 

Form I. — Directions to the teacher for keeping the daily register. 
These directions are to be printed on the title-page of the register, a sample 
of which is herewith submitted as a separate exhibit. The symbols sug- 
gested to be used in marking attendance and tardiness are of course arbi- 
trary, but these are suggested as simple. They also have the advantage 
of making it easy to turn a supposed absent mark into a tardy mark. 

Form II. — Teacher's monthly report to the principal. The explana- 
tion printed at the bottom of the sample submitted may be omitted in 
actual practice and this space used for local items. 

Form III. — Principal's monthly report to the superintendent. This is 
printed as a half sheet leaving sufficient room for special data called for 
in any given system of schools. 

form i 

Register of Daily Attendance in School in the 

of , State of for the beginning 

191 . . . and ending 191 ... . Grade 

Teacher. 



DIRECTIONS TO THE TEACHER 

1. Fill in the heading of the register with the appropriate words for city, village, district, 
year, term, etc. 

2. Write the days of the month in the blank spaces above the letters which indicate the 
days of the week. 

3. Enroll boys and girls separately. 

4. Age should always be given as of September i, preceding the date of enrollment. 



g^BlggV>'iW^^<g^rI¥»^ 



COMMITTEE ON UNIFORM RECORDS AND REPORTS 



43 



5. Pupils admitted (or enrolled) in the school faU within one of four classes, viz.: 

a) Readmitted after temporary discharge, or admitted by transfer from another room 

in the same school. 
h) Admitted by transfer from another public school in the same city or system. 

c) Admitted by transfer from a public school in another city or system in the same 
state. 

d) Original enrollments from all sources — pupils not previously enrolled in any public 
school in the state during the current school year. 

6. Pupils discharged fall within one of four classes, viz.: 

e) Temporarily dropped (a pupil is temporarily dropped after an absence of 3 consecu- 
tive days). 

/) Transferred to any other school, public or private, or to another room in the same 

school, 
g) Permanently withdrawn to work, or because of having passed the compulsory 

school age. 
h) Permanently withdrawn for any other reason — death, commitment to an institu- 
tion, etc. 
N.B. — ^The admission (enrollment) or discharge of a pupil is to be indicated by writing 
the letter a, b, c, d, e, f, g, or h, according to the definitions given above, in the space for 
the day and session in the daily register when said admission (enrollment) or discharge 
occurs. 



SYMBOLS TO BE USED 



Absent a.m. 
Absent p.m. 
Absent All Day 



Tardy a.m. 
Tardy p.m. 



FORM II 
.Public Schools. Teacher's Monthly Report to the Principal 

. School Sessions Month of 191 ... . 

Boys Girls Total 



III.' Number belonging on the last school day of last month {Item III 
on last month's report) 



a) Readmissions and other duplicate enrollments 
within the school 



b) From other public schools in the city . 



c) From public schools in the state outside of the 
city 

d) Original enrollment from all other sources 



Boys Girls Total 









44 



NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 



I. Total number admitted. (The sum of a, h, c, and d) 

Boys Girls ToUl 



e) Temporarily dropped 

/) Transferred to another school or room 

g) Permanently withdrawn to work 

h) Permanently withdrawn for other reasons. . . . 



II. Total number discharged. (The sum of e,f, g, and h) 

III. Number belonging at the end of this month. (Ill' +1— II) 

Boys Girls Total 

2.' Total number belonging (Total for aU sessions) 



3.' Total number present (Total for all sessions) 



4.' Total number absent (Total for all sessions) 
5.' Total number tardy (Total for all sessions) 



The above totals are to be used by the principal in finding attendance data for the schooU 
(See Principal's Report.) 

If desired for any purpose the average for the room may be found and recorded as indi- 
cated below. 

Boys Girls Total 

2. Average number belonging (2'-;- the number of sessions^ 



) 

) 

) 









3. Average number present (3'-^ the number of sessions) 

4. Average number absent (4' H- the number of sessions) 

IV. Per cent of attendance (3' -;- 2') ......% 

V. Per cent of absence {4.' -i-2) % 

2' = 3'+4' 2 = 3+4 IV-t-V= 100 per cent. (These checks should be applied 
before handing in report.) 

Explanalioti: Items a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h are to be obtained by counting the number 
of pupils recorded under each item according to "Directions to Teachers" accompanying 
the Daily Register. 

Items 2', 3', 4', s' may be summarized daily on the last four lines of the Register. 

It is advised that pupils be admitted or discharged only for whole days, i.e., in the 
morning. The number of pupils belonging for the day will then be doubled to get the 
number belonging for both sessions. This number minus the number of absences for 
t)oth sessions will agree with the number present for both sessions. 

These daily summaries, added, give the totals required for 2', 3', 4', 5'. Totals 2', 
3', 4', each divided by the whole number of sessions for the month, give the averages 

2,3,4- 

(This explanation would be omitted from regular form, and the space used for addi- 
tional items that might be of local significance.) 



Teacher 



i^iiii^^^^^^M 



COMMITTEE ON UNIFORM RECORDS AND REPORTS 



45 



FORM III 



Public Schools 



Principal's Monthly Report to the Superintendent 

Sessions Month of 191 ... . 

Boys Girls Total 



III' Number belonging on the last school day of last month 

Boys Girls Total 



a) Readmissions and other duplicate enrollments 
within the school. 



b) From other public schools in the city. 

c) From public schools in the state outside of the 
city. 

d) Original enrollment from all other sources. 

I. Total number admitted (the sum of a, b, c, and d). 

e) Temporarily dropped. 

/) Transferred to another school or from one 
room to another. 

g) Permanently withdrawn to work. 

k) Permanently withdrawn for other reasons. 



Boys Girls Total 









II. Total number discharged (the sum of e, f, g, and h). 
III. Number belonging at the end of this month (III'+I— II). 

attendance record 

The sums of 2', 3', 4' respectively on the teachers' monthly reports, divided by the 
number of sessions, give the required averages. 



2. Average number belonging 

3. Average attendance 

4. Average absence 

5' Total number tardy 



Kindergarten 




Other Grades 


Boys 


Girls 


Total 


Boys 


Girls 


Total 



















































Principal 



46 



NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 



DISCUSSION 

Payson Smith, state superintendent of public schools, Augusta, Me. — From this 
convention the members will return to their several fields of labor bearing new inspiration, 
new ideals, new methods, new plans. There will not be lacking, either, the opportunity 
to carry with them new sets of figures quoted here to substantiate every shade of educa- 
tional opinion. 

A saving grace of our school statistics at present lies in their extreme flexibility. 
They may be utilized to prove whatever premise one chooses for the moment to adopt. 
The fear persists therefore that educational statistics will not constitute a large part of the 
mental impedimenta of the return journey. 

To the credit of our platform exponents of education let me hasten to say that by 
common consent they have adopted into their current phraseology such conscience- 
satisfying, responsibility-dodging introductions as "it is said that" or "someone has 
estimated" or most commonly "according to a recent school report we learn." 

To record the conviction of the Department of Superintendence that reliability is 
not an impossible ideal of school statistics and to assist in estabhshing methods that will 
insure such reliability, the Committee on Uniform School Records and Statistics was 
authorized in 1910. The preliminary report of this committee was made at Mobile last 
year by the secretary. Dr. Strayer. 

Herewith in the several documents placed in your hands today the committee begs 
to submit its final report. 

In the making of this report, it is appropriate to say, at this time, that your committee 
has had from the first the cordial co-operation of the Bureau of Education, former Com- 
missioner Brown and Commissioner Claxton having personally attended the meetings. 
Dr. Updegraff of the bureau has kept in closest personal touch with the work of the 
committee and has given invaluable assistance to it. 

Moreover, I desire to acknowledge appreciatively for the committee the service the 
superintendents of the country have rendered thru the painstaking care they have taken 
in examining the various forms submitted for their approval and suggestion. Indeed it 
is fair to say that the report before you represents not alone the work of the committee and 
of the bureau, but is a collaboration of these with members of the Department of Super- 
intendence and of school ofiicers thruout the country. 

The presentation of the report this morning is the joint production of the members 
of the committee who are present. My part, which I promise you shall be brief, will be 
to indicate the general survey of the field attempted to be covered. Others will speak 
somewhat in detail of the various sections of the report. 

At the first meeting of the Committee on Uniform Records and Reports five definite 
points of attack of the problem were indicated. First, there are the items to be recorded 
in relation to the individual child, the smallest unit, yet the one for whom, we trust, the 
system is constructed and run. The result of the discussion on this point was the indi- 
vidual pupil's cumulative record card, which was submitted to superintendents of schools 
in all states and was very generally approved by them. It was an important part of the 
preliminary report presented last year at Mobile. Up to this date school systems repre- 
senting many states of the Union have adopted the card absolutely as reported while 
many others report that they are using forms identical in all essential points. The 
issuing of this form by various card-catalog publishers is perhaps satisfactory evidence 
of the practical appeal it has made. 

The second task undertaken was to secure if possible a similar agreement on a uni- 
form teacher's register to the end that a common ground be reached for recording and 
reporting items of the individual schools. This task has presented unusual difficulties 
growing out of the varied local requirements in respect to information desired. The 
forms for this register could not be obtained in season for distribution in advance of this 




COMMITTEE ON UNIFORM RECORDS AND REPORTS 47 

meeting. They are among the material you have now and will be discussed by Mr. 
Warriner. 

A very large part of the time and attention of the committee has been given to the 
proposed forms for collecting fiscal and educational statistics from the various school 
systems. The forms finally adopted you have seen. There has already been a sufficient 
degree of agreement on these forms by county, city, and state superintendents to warrant 
the expectation that they will at least provide a most satisfactory basis for the beginning 
of a uniform statistics collecting agency. Several state superintendents have already 
undertaken to formulate their own reporting systems on this common basis. A particu- 
larly satisfactory development has been that indicated by the suggestion of Commissioner 
Claxton and agreed to by state officers that thru these forms a system may be devised by 
which the national bureau will collect its statistics thru the state officers, obviating the 
necessity of the several reports now required or requested of local officers. 

On these three points thus far mentioned it has seemed important to secure agreement 
not only as to the fundamental facts to be kept and recorded by all school systems but 
even to prescribe with some detail the manner of their recording. This does not preclude 
the possibility of such additional statistics gathering as any local officer may desire. 
Without such agreement, however, the value of statistics for purposes of comparison will 
be greatly decreased if not entirely lost. The committee appreciates fully the importance 
of preserving the sequence of items that have always been considered and the forms 
suggested do not by any means contemplate the ignoring of previous records, however 
faulty they may have been made. 

The fourth and fifth propositions considered were the form and content of city and 
state reports. The method and form of final publication of statistics, while not presenting 
the problem of securing accuracy to the same degree as in collecting statistics, are never- 
theless of supreme importance as dealing with the ultimate use of it all, the interpretation 
to the pubHc. It is obvious that there is little use in collecting masses of figures and 
statistics if they are not to be made available for the practical service of those who seek 
the improvement and right adjustment of the conditions represented. The committee 
has of course recognized that the forms of presentation are not to be prescribed on all 
points of detail. However, if my school reports are to be useful to you and yours to me, 
then on certain fundamental points of common experience we must speak to each other 
in the terms of a common language. For this reason your committee has gone so far as 
to suggest in the sections dealing with city and state reports certain points, tables, and 
schedules thru which it believes any school report will be made to appeal to a larger 
constituency. 

In closing my part of this presentation, I beg to emphasize the point that the work 
thus far done in bringing about a partial reformation in our methods of school reporting 
will increase in value in direct proportion as superintendents bring about the more general 
adoption and use of these forms that stand as the joint product of yourselves and of the 
other agencies I have named. 

Such uniformity as may be implied in this general adoption of forms or general use 
of suggested tables is by no means incompatible with originality in report-making. After 
we have agreed upon the fundamental points of school reporting and accounting to the 
end that we may have comparable data expressed in similar terms, then the manner of 
their presentation and interpretation to the public will constitute a constant challenge 
to the skill and ingenuity of the superintendent who himself knows his schools and desires 
his public to have the same fuU information. 

Harlan Updegraff, Bureau of Education, Washington, D.C. — The committee has 
made a notable contribution to the progress of educational administration. A complete 
revision in the recording and reporting of school data is demanded by the conditions which 
confront us. Our schools have grown in much the same manner as has the business of a 






48 



NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 



storekeeper in a small town, which increased as the municipality grew, until it became 
a prominent factor in the commercial life of a large city. When the business 
was small and its owner could personally supervise all the details of the bookkeeping 
system he could well regard his entire establishment as a single unit, but as it grew larger 
and larger and he knew less and less of the details it became necessary for him to adopt 
a system of accounting which would separate the businesses of the various departments 
as they increased in number, and which would at the same time by a careful, scientific 
classification of expense and receipt items reveal leaks, check wastes, and measure profits. 
•The largest city systems have many different types of schools and activities, and 
some of these are properly divided into smaller units called departments. Every city 
and almost every town and village in the United States has an elementary and a high 
school. Rural schools are expanding, so that they have a high school and departments 
of manual training, domestic science, and agriculture. A school farm is frequently a 
source of revenue to the district as well as an educational laboratory. Progressive 
school boards are demanding that accurate and separate accounts be kept of each unit 
of school work and in such a way as to show clearly the function served by every expendi- 
ture and the source of every receipt. The gain in the increased economy and efficiency 
will more than repay the increased expense involved in their more detailed accounting 
and reporting. 

The attendance and expense figures for a city school system as a whole are practically 
meaningless save for the relation they show in a broad way to the relative totals of school 
expenses as compared with expenses in other civil affairs. Their value in pointing out 
ways for increased economy and increased efficiency is practically nil. We must have 
separate figures for elementary schools, high schools, training schools, special schools 
of various types, and for all the schools included in the city system, and the details with 
which the expenses of these various types of schools are kept should increase with the 
amount of money expended for their support. 

One of the chief merits of the fiscal forms is that they are all arranged in accordance 
with the same functional classification of items. The longer schedules may be reduced to 
the shorter by simple addition of the items involved in each case. In this way the state 
and the national education offices may collect data from each system of schools on a 
schedule commensurate with the size of its school system. The data may be reported 
both in separate tables for each group, as for cities above 10,000, cities from 2,500 to 
10,000, and rural districts, and also all together in a fundamental table from which the 
summaries of the state may be calculated. 

Accounting forms for keeping these detailed expenses may be adapted to many 
different systems of accounting. The essential form is one covering two pages. Upon 
the left side of the left-hand page should be placed columns for such data as will identify 
a voucher, followed by a total column. The remaining portion of the left-hand page 
and all of the right-hand page should contain as many columns as are required — one for 
each of the various kinds of payments. Such a form may be used as a book of original 
entry, as a principal or as a subsidiary ledger, or for more than one of such purposes. 

It falls to the United States Bureau of Education more than to any other agency to 
put into effect the recommendations of the committee, if approved by the department. 
The Bureau of Education asks your full and hearty co-operation. The final result 
will depend more upon the attitude the school officers take toward the matter than upon 
the staff of the Bureau of Education. 

E. C. Warriner, superintendent of schools, Saginaw, Mich. — Speaking generally, 
uniformity in educational matters is not desirable. Uniform courses of study, uniform 
textbooks thru any wide area, uniform methods of teaching, are alike deadening, stifling 
to initiative and individual growth, and therefore result in stagnation rather than in 
progress. In the matter of educational reports, however, the opposite is true. Here 



^m^smEmmmimimm§mm 



COMMITTEE ON UNIFORM RECORDS AND REPORTS 49 

variety tends to chaos and confusion, hence to inactivity, while uniformity permits 
■comparisons to be made, resulting in emulation and progress. 

At the Mobile meeting of this department a cumulative record card was recom- 
mended by your committee, designed to follow a pupil thru his elementary-school career. 
That this card fills a place in our record scheme is proved by replies received in the ofl&ce 
of the commissioner of education showing that 216 cities have already adopted and are 
using this card. These replies have not shown a marked demand for any change either 
in the size or in the contents of this card, and your committee therefore resubmits this 
card and urges its wide adoption. From this cumulative record card may be learned in 
what schools the pupil has been enrolled during his elementary-school career and what 
leffect his attendance in these different schools has had on his progress; the card also 
shows how many times the child has been detained in a grade and the relation between 
absence from school and retardation; the card will also show the influence of foreign 
ibirth and of kindergarten training on school progress. For these reasons your committee 
^strongly urges upon all superintendents present the earnest consideration of the advis- 
sibility of using the card presented and already in use in 216 cities. 

As was pointed out in the report of this committee a year ago at the Mobile meeting, 
the ultimate basis for all statistics in regard to pupils is the teacher's daily register. 
Trom the records found in this register is compiled the teacher's monthly report to the 
principal, from these the principal's report to the superintendent, and so on to the end. 
If, then, there can be an agreement as to how the teacher's daily register is to be kept 
and an agreement as to the terminology therein employed, educational statistics in city 
and county systems, in states, and ultimately in the nation, will assume a uniformity 
eminently to be desired. 

Your committee made certain definite suggestions a year ago in regard to the defini- 
tions to be used in keeping the daily register, which we desire to repeat and urge for 
readoption with one exception. Our former report recommended that a pupil should be 
temporarily discharged at the end of five consecutive days of absence. We now recom- 
mend that three replace five in this definition as conforming to the existing practice over 
a wide area of the country. With this change, your committee suggests that a teacher's 
daily register should contain the following items. 

1. Names of boys and girls, enrolled separately. 

2. Age of each pupil as of September i of the current school year. 

3. Attendance by sessions. 

4. Tardiness by sessions. 

5. Enrollment, classified as follows: 

a) Pupils previously enrolled during the year, including transfers within the_ school 
or school district. (This item is thrown out in computing the nuniber of different 
pupils enrolled during the school year in a given school or school district.) 

b) Pupils previously enrolled during the year in some other school or school district 
in the same town or city. (This item is thrown out in computing the number of 
different pupils enrolled during the year in a given town or city.) 

c) Pupils previously enrolled during the year in other towns or cities in the state. 
(This item is thrown out in computing the number of different pupils enrolled 
during the year in a given state. The use of this item will enable sta.te depart- 
ments to secure an accurate record of the whole number of different pupils enrolled 
within the state.) 

d) Pupils not previously enrolled during the year in any town or city in the state. 
(These are original enrollments included in all reports.) 

6. Discharged pupils, classified as follows: 

a) Pupils temporarily discharged (after an absence of 3 consecutive days) or trans- 
ferred within the school or school district. 

b) Pupils transferred to any other school, public or private. 

c) Pupils permanently discharged to go to work or because of having reached the 
age limit before completing the elementary-school course. 

d) Pupils .discharged for other reasons. 






50 



NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 



The above data comprehend the minimum requirement of information to be fur- 
nished by a teacher's register. Certain other items obtainable from these data must be 
recorded daily either in the register itself or on a daily summary sheet. As to where 
items shall be thus recorded is a matter of detail which is not of so great importance as 
is the fact that the same definitions be adopted generally. The most important of these 
definitions are those of the total enrollment, number belonging, and average attendance. 
It is of prime importance for any comparative use of enrollment statistics that the same 
meaning of the word enrollment should be generally adopted. Plainly, in reckoning 
the total number of different pupils enrolled in a given school system, the only fair and 
honest basis is to exclude all duplications of names within that system. Pupils trans- 
ferred from one room to another room in the same school or from one school to another 
school in the same city or school system should be counted but once. All such duplica- 
tions should be faithfully deducted in making up the enrollment figures for the year, 
even if the final showing is disappointing from the point of view of numbers. These 
deductions are provided for in items (a) and (b), under the definition of enrollment above. 

Your committee has gone a step farther and provides for the prevention of duplicate 
enrollments within the state. We beheve that this will be hailed by all state superin- 
tendents as a forward step. Education is a state function. The state is an important 
unit in every educational function and statistics should be honest and fair with respect 
to states quite as much as with respect to individual cities or districts. This recommenda- 
tion will bring about knowledge of the facts of state enrollment. 

The number of pupils belonging is determined by the rules given above for the dis- 
charge of pupils. Where funds are distributed on the basis of average membership of 
the school or average number belonging, it is a matter of justice that the same basis be 
adopted for deciding how long pupils are to be carried on the rolls. The recommendation 
of your committee that a pupil be dropped from the rolls after three days of consecutive 
absence is believed to accord with the most general practice and we hope that it will be 
universally adopted. To ascertain the average membership or average number belonging,, 
it is only necessary to find the sum of the number belonging for a series of days and divide 
this sum by the number of days in consideration. 

The average daily attendance is found in the same way, by adding together the 
number of days each pupil was present during the year and dividing the sum, which is 
the aggregate attendance in days, by the number of school days during the year. In 
case the percentage of attendance is required, it may be found by dividing the average 
number of attendance by the average number belonging. 

Whether these last-named items are recorded in the teacher's register every day or 
not, they must be kept and reported at the end of the month and of the year to the princi- 
pal, superintendent, or board of education. For this purpose your committee submits 
a model form for the teacher's monthly report to the principal. 

It is probable that in different states and in different school systems other and 
additional items may be recorded in the teacher's register and reported in the teacher's 
monthly report. This will in no way interfere with the minimum amount of information 
as here described. Your committee does not include in its model register the residence 
of pupils or the name of parents, because these are found on the cumulative record card 
previously recommended and adopted by this department. But if these are added it 
will only add to the size of the register form. The committee recommends a scheme of 
symbols for recording different forms of enrollment and discharge. The advantage of 
the adoption of such a uniform system would be the ease with which teachers moving 
from one place to another might accommodate themselves to a new system of schools. 
The work of record-keeping should be made as easy as possible for teachers, and if record- 
keeping can be standardized, a teacher once having learned to keep a register will be able 
to keep the register wherever he goes. Under existing conditions a new teacher must 
spend too much time in learning the red tape of the new system in which he finds himself. 



COMMITTEE ON UNIFORM RECORDS AND REPORTS 



51 



William H. Elson, superintendent of schools, Cleveland, Ohio. — Valuable experi- 
ments in education now being made are described in the reports of superintendents. 
These documents are for this reason becoming increasingly helpful and widely used by 
students of education. In consequence these reports should be made readily usable 
by having: (i) a table of contents, showing not only general headings treated, but also 
the subheads; (2) a carefully prepared index. These are important factors in making 
the report usable. 

The report should contain tables showing the enrollment, the distribution of enroll- 
ment; withdrawals, distribution of withdrawals, causes of withdrawals; nonpromotion, 
distribution of nonpromotion, causes of nonpromotion, failures in studies, for both 
elementary and high schools. 

Increasing interest centers in cost. The increasing cost of education and the Umits 
of taxation make necessary the squaring of every educational measure with money- 
values. Per capita cost of instruction, on the one hand, and of educational equipment 
and supplies, on the other, should be shown city-wide and per building. Five- or ten- 
year tables showing cost should be carried for purposes of comparison. Such tables of 
cost not only make for economy in educational supplies and equipment but they foster 
unification and standardization in the various buildings in a school district. 

The gathering of data along lines suggested in the forms submitted by this report 
of the Committee on Uniform Records and Reports will go a long way in placing actual 
school conditions at the disposal of administrators and make possible the overcoming 
of such educational waste as the school may be found to be responsible for. 



oc 



nln^.'^^Y Of" CONGRESS 




019 736 385 A 



